[hen-ui-dynamic-experience placement=”aboveTheFold” /] [hen-ui-card variant=”background-white” border=”stroke”] [hen-ui-flex direction=”column” gap=”lg”] [hen-ui-heading variant=”h2″]Key Takeaways[/hen-ui-heading] [hen-ui-list variant=”unordered” bullet-style=”check” marker-color=”secondary”] [hen-ui-list-item][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Many professional organizations, private foundations, research institutions, and government agencies offer scholarships reserved for women — especially those interested in pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM).[/hen-ui-text][/hen-ui-list-item] [hen-ui-list-item][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Some organizations also offer scholarships specifically for certain demographics of women students, including scholarships for Black women, scholarships for single mothers, and scholarships for Hispanic or Latina women.[/hen-ui-text][/hen-ui-list-item] [hen-ui-list-item][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]In addition to financial aid covering tuition, some scholarship programs for women also match students with female mentors or provide funding for professional development.[/hen-ui-text][/hen-ui-list-item] [/hen-ui-list] [/hen-ui-flex] [/hen-ui-card] [hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Many college students use scholarships to pay for school. The [hen-ui-link href=”https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_331.30.asp” target=”_blank”]National Center for Education Statistics[/hen-ui-link] (NCES) reports that undergraduates receive an average of $15,750 per year in grant and scholarship aid as of the 2021-2022 academic year.[/hen-ui-text] [hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Organizations offer college scholarships for women to assist with the unique challenges they face in education. While they make up the majority of college students, women also take out more student loans, take longer to repay their loans, and earn less than men after college, on average.[/hen-ui-text] [hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]This article introduces dozens of college scholarships for women, including scholarships for Black or Hispanic women, scholarships for women studying STEM, and scholarships for single mothers.[/hen-ui-text] [hen-ui-dynamic-experience placement=”editorialListings” /] [hen-ui-heading variant=”h2″]Student Challenges for Women[/hen-ui-heading] [hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Women make up the [hen-ui-link href=”https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98″ target=”_blank”]majority of college students[/hen-ui-link]. However, they also face unique barriers to higher education.[/hen-ui-text]
- Balancing School With Personal Responsibilities: Women are more likely than men to attend college while working or tending to familial responsibilities. When women are pulled in multiple directions, they often have less energy for their degrees.
- Lack of Representation: Certain majors enroll far fewer women than men. For example, in physics, engineering, and computer science, [hen-ui-link href=”https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/09/18/math-intensive-fields-have-a-gender-problem-the-men-are-worse-at-math/” target=”_blank”]women make up 20%[/hen-ui-link] of students, with men outnumbering women four to one.
- Fewer Women Mentors: College professors and administrators are primarily men. As a result, female students rarely have access to mentors who understand the unique challenges women face in higher education. Students of color find even fewer mentorship opportunities — [hen-ui-link href=”https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelyncorley/2020/06/27/where-are-the-women-of-color-in-academia/#223164e26401/” target=”_blank”]under 20%[/hen-ui-link] of female professors are women of color.
- Financial Barriers: Accessing funding for higher education can be [hen-ui-link href=”https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/13/american-women-hold-two-thirds-of-all-student-debt-heres-why.html/” target=”_blank”]more difficult for women[/hen-ui-link] for several reasons. On average, parents provide more financial support for sons earning college degrees than daughters. As of 2018, the [hen-ui-link href=”https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/genderwagegap/” target=”_blank”]Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce[/hen-ui-link] reported that women make 81 cents on every dollar earned by men. This wage gap results in working women having less money to cover college costs.